Assessment of positive welfare; defining animal-based measures
The focus in animal welfare research has expanded beyond only minimizing suffering to include the promotion of positive experiences and a good life. Behavioral, physiological and cognitive research provide insight into positive affective states (emotions and moods) in animals and supports the notion of positive welfare. To improve the lives of farm animals, we need to understand what positive experiences in animals are and how they can be recognized on farm. This includes gathering required knowledge for the construct validation of indicators, investigating whether potential indicators occur in preferred and valued situations, validating potential indicators using ‘gold standards’ of positive affective states, and finally, integrating these potential indicators into on-farm welfare assessment protocols.
Aims
The overall objective is to identify and validate animal-based measures of positive animal welfare related to different motivational systems. Specific objectives are 1) to create an overview of current potential indicators of positive affect with their level of validation, 2) to validate these potential indicators, and 3) to propose how validated indicators may be used to assess positive welfare on farm in future. NVI will focus on research in ruminants.
The project includes both theoretical and empirical research and will be aligned with the ongoing Cost Action LIFT: Lifting farm animal lives – laying the foundations for positive animal welfare (2022-2026).
In task 2, the aim is to identify potential behavioral indicators of positive affective state (vocalizations, grooming, exploratory, pro-social and play behavior, facial expressions, body postures and tail and ear positions), as well as potential physiological measures (body temperature, heart rate variability, oxytocin, telomere attrition, BDNF and metabolomics signatures) and cognitive indicators. Specifically, we aim to investigate potential plasma biomarkers of animal welfare based on the study of different breeding conditions. In addition, the metabolic signatures are going to be associated with microbiome data and the different collected indicators.
Project coordinated by NVI by: Laura Whalin
Metabolomics task leader: Oscar Rangel Huerta